Singapore and China take ties to next level

Singapore will help encourage cooperation between China and South-east Asia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday, on the first day of his China trip.

Mr Lee was received by Premier Li Keqiang in a welcome ceremony that included a gun salute, and later met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Mr Lee told reporters that he and Mr Li discussed the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, which the Chinese are "keen to review and improve".

"We support that and I told them that we will do our part in Singapore to help foster cooperation between China and ASEAN," Mr Lee said.

Mr Xi said of ties between the two countries: "We need to further deepen political trust, enhance pragmatic cooperation and raise our bilateral relationship to a higher level, given the new historical starting point."

Dr Song Yinghui, a researcher in South-east Asian studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told China Daily that Mr Lee's visit will help consolidate relations under China's new leadership.